Disappearing in Plain Sight
by PaBurke
Summary: Some people are just as good as WIT-SEC at making people disappear… Some people are better.


Disappearing in Plain Sight

By PaBurke

Universes: Season one-ish for In Plain Sight. Season Nine-ish for Stargate SG1.

Disclaimer: Not mine. I didn't get any money, I was just playing.

Summary: Some people are just as good as WIT-SEC at making people disappear… Some people are better.

Rating: teen friendly, for a little language

*ips*sg1*ips*sg1*

"Marshall, look at this." Marshal Marshall Mann reared his head away from the papers thrust in his face.

He accepted the document with a chiding frown. "What am I looking at?"

"It's for my new client."

"The hero kid?"

"That's the one." Mary Shannon mentally reviewed the facts of the case as she waited: Eighteen year old John O'Connell had been traveling with the Garcia Family from Denver. Philip Garcia had applied to some of the same colleges as O'Connell and everyone else was riding along to see the campuses. Mrs. Garcia was a widow of some Air Force officer with Philip (who had been from Mr. Garcia's first marriage, but she had sued for custody) and three small children making up their family. While the woman was apparently a wonderful person, mother, homemaker, cook and secretary, she was also navigationally stupid.

She had driven the family to the wrong side of LA where they had witnessed three big drug deals before driving straight into the middle of a turf war. The Garcias and O'Connell had been dragged from their car. Somehow O'Connell and the Garcia children escaped, but Mrs. Garcia was killed in front of her children. Then, from the middle of the gang's territory, O'Connell managed to get everyone else safely to the police station.

Mary didn't know who was taking care of the Garcias but she did know that they weren't in New Mexico.

"Emancipated minor," Marshall observed. "Explains how he took charge and survived."

"Yes." She was waiting for it.

"Are you going to tell me what I'm looking for or are you going to make me guess?"

"What's the fun in telling you the answers?" Mary asked back.

Marshall rolled his eyes but studied the file. Blinked and then studied it more.

"The lightbulb went off," Mary narrated.

"This is fake. Someone created a very good identity. Was he in WITSEC before the thing with the Garcias?"

"Obviously it's not in the file."

"Do you think he will tell us?"

"No," Mary took back the file. "It's a very good identity, almost as good as something that we'd create."

"We're going to have to talk to him and hopefully get some straight answers. We can't do an accurate threat assessment if we don't know who is looking for him."

"That's what I thought."

When Marshall and Mary arrived at John O'Connell's apartment, it was empty of personal affects. A letter was left on the kitchen table.

It read:

_I_

_Marshal Marshall and Marshal Mary,_

_Sorry for putting you through such trouble but an old friend offered me a trip to exotic, new places. I'm trading this city for one on the ocean. Colonel Davis, USAF, at the Pentagon can confirm. Thanks for all your work and yes, I am safe._

_Sincerely,_

_John O'Connell_

_It was a pleasure._

_/I_

"Does that read like military speak to you?" Marshall asked.

"Yes. And the contact at the Pentagon was a dead give-away." Mary already had her phone out and was entering in the phone number that John O'Connell had written on the note. "Who the hell is this kid?"

The phone conversation was short and Mary was obviously not getting her way. When Davis hung up, Mary stared at her phone and shook her head. "He threatened to make it a Presidential Order if I didn't cease and desist. Who the hell is John O'Connell?"

Not five minutes passed, and Stan called to tell them that an official transfer order had come through and that John O'Connell was no longer in their custody.

"Yeah, I got that Stan," Mary told her boss. "But can they keep John O'Connell safe and alive."

"It's no longer our concern and responsibility, Mary," Stan said. "Drop it. Now."

"Are we dropping it?" Marshall asked.

"You bet your sweet ass, we're not. We just have to be sneaky about it."

"You be sneaky," Marshall answered and walked out the door. "I have my job to do."

Mary huffed. She wasn't sure if she would find anything without Marshall. There were definitely no clues in the apartment. Where had John O'Connell disappeared to? And why did the Pentagon care?

She had a nasty feeling that this was going to be an unanswered question; that there would be no clues anywhere.

Why did John O'Connell leave and where did he go?

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End file.
